N-ICE CATCH – Barnstable goalie Jake Kaczyinski (1) has the puck in his glove after a save for the Red Raiders against Archbishop Williams Jan. 15. The teams battled to a 3-3 tie.

Barnstable and Archbishop Williams go 3-3

Barnstable boys varsity ice hockey head coach Scott Nickerson feels there are tie games a coach isn’t happy with, and tie games a coach likes. Barnstable’s 3-3 run against Archbishop Williams this week falls into the latter category.

“I thought that was one we were very happy with,” Nickerson said of the Jan. 15 game. “I thought from our side it was a very well played, hard-earned tie.”

Barnstable put the first goal of the game on the scoreboard in the first during a man-down situation for the Bishops, with Chris Fowler finding the back of the net on a feed from Cody Pasic.

The Bishops tied the game early in the third, then took a 2-1 lead with a back-to-back shot, but the undaunted Red Raiders battled back to tie the game again on a goal from Donnie Brodd.

With less than seven minutes left in regulation play, the Bishops tallied again, pulling ahead 3-2 before Fowler ripped off the tying goal seconds later.

Working to preserve the tie was goalie Jake Kaczyinski, who had a number of impressive saves in net, including a few mid-air puck grabs.

“Jake played really well,” Nickerson said. “If we didn’t have good goaltending we wouldn’t have ended up with a tie. He played outstanding.”

Nickerson noted that Kaczyinski is one of the team’s three goalies, each of whom has played well this season. Nickerson also gave kudos to Matt Trotto for his tireless efforts.

“Matt Trotto handled himself on both ends of the ice,” Nickerson said. “I think everybody played hard. We’re going with a small number of players and they’re all working hard. We’re happy with the way things are going. Things are good.”

The tie comes on the heels of a 10-0 shutout of Old Colony League foe Dartmouth Jan. 11 in which Cam Curtin recorded the first hat trick of his high school career.

Along with Curtin’s trio of goals were two from Pasic and two from Kyle Rood, while Max Lambert also had a hat trick for the Red Raiders.

Earning the shutout in net was Dylan Campbell.

“Right now we’re 4-3-2 overall,” said Nickerson. “We really haven’t played bad except for one game, and that was Falmouth (a 2-0 loss). All the other games I thought we’ve played very well.”

Nickerson’s team played earlier this season to a 2-2 tie against Duxbury, a team ranked in the top 10. They’ve also defeated Dennis-Yarmouth 7-1, Sandwich 6-2, and Newburyport 6-0, while falling to Springfield Cathedral 9-3 and Burlington, the Div. 1 defending state champions, 4-2.

“Every game we’ve been in we’ve played well,” Nickerson said.

Next up for the Red Raiders is the Nate Nickerson Invitational Jan. 18 and 19, with Barnstable seeking to defend its 2013 title. Following the tourney is a Jan. 25 home game against Bridgewater-Raynham with a 7 p.m. start.